Paul CLAUDEL. 3 L.A.S., 1944-1945, to Jean-Louis Barrault; 3 - Lot 80

Lot n° 80
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Estimation :
1500 - 2000 EUR
Paul CLAUDEL. 3 L.A.S., 1944-1945, to Jean-Louis Barrault; 3 - Lot 80
Paul CLAUDEL. 3 L.A.S., 1944-1945, to Jean-Louis Barrault; 3pages in-4, 2 pages in-8 and 1 page and a quarter in-4. Correspondence to Jean-Louis Barrault concerning preparations for the matinée poétique devoted to Claudel, to be held at the Comédie-Française on March 17, 1945. Brangues December 29, 1944. Claudel has given thought to the "Matinée poétique Paul Claudel" project, but dismisses "the idea of a first part devoted to the 'Sources'", finding in particular "it would be over the top to use figures of the size you envisage for the base of my own statue. [...] The flaw in the matinées poétiques is that they are too jagged, imposing on the spectator's mind too many starts one after the other, which end up becoming tiresome". He therefore wanted to "choose pieces de résistance, before or after which would come hors-d'oeuvres and desserts". And he draws up the program, with "descriptive poems", including an extract from Connaissance de l'Est, part of La Cantate à trois voix, "religious poems", the "little 4-character play" Sous le Rempart d'Athènes, and "patriotic poems", including Au Général de Gaulle... He adds that he made the acquaintance of Maria Casarès, whom he "liked very much. She is keen to play Claudel, and I really think she could be given the role of Pensée"... Brangues, January 21, 1945. His daughter tells him that the matinee will take place on March 3, and he hopes that Barrault has received "the little poems and the 2 annotated dramas". Then he talks about Le Soulier de Satin, which has been translated into English "by Father O'Connor (Chesterton's Father Brown)"... February 13, 1945. He is not thrilled with R. Kemp's participation, and gives indications about the choice of texts by Aeschylus, Dante, Virgil, Shakespeare and Rimbaud. "The idea of a performance of Le P. humilié at the Th. des Mathurins with Maria Casarès is taking shape. I've reworked the play quite a bit. If this Maria gives what I hope she will, it will be very beautiful. But it's not easy to stage these 2 great love duets! Published in Cahiers Paul Claudel, tome X, Correspondance Paul Claudel/Jean-Louis Barrault, nos. 86, 88 and 90. Enclosed is an invitation to the first performance of Le Soulier de satin at the Comédie-Française on November 27, 1943, directed by J.-L. Barrault.
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